Well they call me William the Pleaser
I sold opium, fireworks and lead
Now I'm telling my troubles to strangers
When the shadows get long I be dead

Now her hair was as black as a bucket of tar
Her skin as white as a cuttlefish bone
I left Texas to follow Lucinda
Now I'll never see heaven or home

I meet her when Charlotte slivers in moonlight
A sly grin and a bow full of stars
I got a kid who captures a firefly
And leaves it over there to die at the shore

As I kick at the clowns at my hanging
As I swing out all over the crowds
I will search every face for Lucinda
And she'll go off with me down the hill

I tought I'd broke loose of Lucinda
Rain returned and so did the wind
I cast this burden on the God's that's within me
Now he'll miss (?!) the world and go free

The devil danced inside empty pockets
But she didn't want money or pearls
Boy that wasn't enought for Lucinda
She wasn't that kind of girl

Now I've fallen from grace for Lucinda
Who'd ever tought that Hell would be so cold?
I did well for an old tin can sailor
But she want it the bell in my soul

I spoken to God on the mountain
And I've swam in the irish sea
I've ate fire and drank from the Gange
I've played bell for mercy for me

I tought I'd broke loose of Lucinda
Rain returned and so did the wind
I was standing outside the white house
And there I was afraid to go in

I heard someone pull the trigger
Her breast heaved in the moonlight (??) again
There was a smear of gold in the window
And then I was the (???) of her sin

They call me William the Pleaser
I sold opium, fireworks and lead
Now I'm telling my troubles to strangers
When the shadows get long I be dead

Now her hair was as black as a bucket of tar
Her skin as white as a cuttlefish bone
I left Texas to follow Lucinda
I know I'll never see heaven or home
No I'll never see heaven or home
No I'll never never see heaven or home

10 Comments

General CommentNo, I don't think the Lucinda : Lucifer suggested analogy quite accounts for what's sung. I have a variation on what iwalkwithzombies wrote and it's very close in meaning, so just bear with me, here. I think it's a narration at the moment between life and death-- by suicide hanging. It condemns William to hell for his own sin, rather than any act Lucinda might have done, without the conspiratorial glitz of devil-worship & devotion.

William "the Pleaser" clearly shows that he cared greatly for Lucinda. His knowing her--whether it's intimate or stalkerish is something to note, but not relevent--is likened to a child's secret and a secret "wish in the moonlight" He even associates his connection to her with children's story prop "bowl full of stars". He's childish enough to kill something beautiful by neglect (3.3-4). And at her death scene he doesn't ascribe any passionate or murderous descriptions. It focuses on the stormy night and is nothing more than snippets of the scene. There's a gunshot -- a golden glint -- her body -- and his guilt on the backdrop of the storm. It's hardly murderous!

What I can't account for is why he'd say "and she will go off with me down to hell" (4.4) or why "she wanted the bell in [William's] soul" (7.4). That leads me to think of iwalkwithzombie's suggestion. For all we know, he watched Lucinda be murdered (hence the reflection in the window: a gold glint) and blames himself. Mixing anger and guilt with the memory of her death? And, hells' bells, it may be that Lucinda was the one who committed suicide and he witnessed it-- after all, William isn't saying he saw or heard someone run out of the house. It's only him and her corpse. Besides, this woman is an exception to the ascribed notion that "the devil dances in empty pockets" -- that the poor are thieves, beggars and cunts, or that "poverty tempts one to do evil".*. If she DID ANYTHING she'd be a saint. As it is, Lucinda ("light", as Google & the Latin language tells me, so that's another pretty reference for her) is a romantic doll for all she does in this romantic song.

All that I can say for her "wanting the bell in his soul" is that maybe I don't know what it means. Really, did she demand this pretty little thing from him literally, or is it a little death knell her death set a-ringing in him? Whatever it is, he's singing this forlorn tale to us when he'll be soon be dead.

*Courtesy of the Tom Waits Library. Mr. Waits also says that it's just "an American backwoods a cappella about a hanging." Just that. Very formal. Very official and brusk.

And the footnotes: I suspect William is quite poor, hence why Lucinda isn't described by image the upper class would coo for. It's tar and cuttlefish bone for the poor, it is. He's also a small-time peddler who's strangely familiar with worshipful practices in India. Where the hell did he follow Lucinda to, from Texas? India? The joy of this song is that we have a departure location and not the bloody arrival destination.

My interpretation is a bit different. I think Lucinda is a Lady MacBeth type, luring William to do bad things beyond what he'd typically be willing to do. He just wants to sell opium, fireworks, and lead; Lucinda wants him to commit robbery and murder. She's not really interested in him at all, she just wants to know she can drive a man to such extremes---that she can take "the bell in his soul". And when he finally succumbs to her at the White Horse, he becomes the "jewel of her sin"; she knows that she can do it. She doesn't need him anymore, and she won't be at his hanging. The irony is that William understands all this, yet he can't resist her.

General Commenthe's written some great lyrics in the past (Who are you, Anywhere I lay my head,... ), but there's an incredible amount of very good lyrics in his last album. it may seem impossible, but I think he's getting even better with age (how many great albums in a row?), the guy'll turn 57 in 2 days and is writing the most modern music these days (not like that post punk-new wave crap)
any way, this song. my favourite lyrics in the album, together with Road to peace (also in Brawlers)
Tom and Steve Wynn play the blues like no one else

General CommentI've just got what this song means. It's a rough recasting of The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus; German folklore and also a play by Christopher Marlowe. I won't go into every detail, but take what that other guy said about Lucifer = Lucinda and it all makes sense - the narrator of the song devotes himself to this Lucinda character, does a lot of crazy stuff in his life but ultimately will never see heaven nor home, just as Faustus sold his soul to the devil.

General CommentI think a valid interpretation of this song may be much simpler than it would appear
Perhaps he killed Lucinda, which might explain why he would see her in the crowd
perhaps becoming the jewel in her sin might mean killing her in retribution for some sin she committed

General CommentI think SallySpades is onto something, yet some things don’t match up.
I do think he murdered her. Notice how the chord progression is a darker version of House of the Rising Sun? I’m thinking this is a twisting of the rising Sun story to Waits’ standards.
A man damned by the lure of a brothel and a particular courtesan or upper-class prostitute, perhaps a high-born lady: Lucinda.
He thought he was free of her, yet he feels too strong for her and returns.
He made a wish on a sliver of moonlight to be with her, and got more what he bargend for.
‘I did well for an old Tin can Sailer, but she wanted the bell in my soul.’
Lucinda either despises him or has a cruel personality, making it unwise for him to return to her.

“The devil danced inside empty pockets
But she didn't want money or pearls
Boy that wasn't enought for Lucinda
She wasn't that kind of girl”

He is compelled to keep seeing her, yet he is too poor. She doesn’t want his money, but instead goads him around, and he follows, perhaps to repay his dept. Whatever she forces him to do, it’s not pretty. Or perhaps it’s the very act of toying around with him that drives him to the ‘falling from grace’. William is perhaps called the Pleaser since he lived to please her.
One day he draws the line an tries to murder her. He stands outside the mansion or brothel ‘The White House/Horse’, goes in and tries to shoot her. I don’t think he identifies as the killer at that moment, thus ‘someone’ pulled the trigger.

He is hung for his crime, whether he succeeded is unclear. He expects Lucinda to go to hell as well, either for what she did to him or for he very profession?

SallySpades, what Indian worship practices are described besides the drinking from the Ganges?
Perhaps there is more to these
The ‘god on the mountain’ refers to the Mozes ‘still small voice’ episode.
…what’s the significance of the Irish sea?

Such an amazing song, so many strange references. I love it!
A side note: I thought It was interesting how Tom pronounced the ‘..Broke loose of Lucinda.’
Hell Broke Luce seems to have nothing to do with this song. A man being dragged around the world to fight out wars, returning broke and broken….I’m not sure.
Also,there’s obviously some errors in this transliteration.

About the
'I've spoken to God on the mountain
And I've swam in the Irish sea
I ate fire and drank from the Ganges
And I'll beg there for mercy for me.'

What if these were things he had to do for her?
The Irish sea apparently is a popular record attempting crossing.
However, and this part might fall outside of the presumed chronological context:
The Irish sea is the most irradiated sea in the world, while the Ganges is the most polluted river.
Eating fire is generally unhealthy, I suppose.

This would connect the first and the last and the second and the third sentences…What connects them as a whole?